


Once a King

by Doranwen



Category: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-13
Updated: 2017-05-13
Packaged: 2018-10-31 03:59:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10891254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doranwen/pseuds/Doranwen
Summary: They may be back in England, but Edmund still finds battles to fight.





	Once a King

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ChronicBookworm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChronicBookworm/gifts).



> I have to thank prinzenhasserin for all the help they provided - I couldn't have finished this without them!  
> thedevilchicken was also invaluable for helping with British details and language.

Lucy sighed deeply as they rounded the corner and left her school out of sight.

"Is it as horrid as that?" Edmund asked her.

"Well, it could be worse," she said with a wry grin. "But I can't help thinking of how a regular day went in Narnia, and comparing…" She looked at Edmund with an expression that was far too serious for her nine-year-old face. "Compared to spending the day with the dryads outdoors, or riding to Archenland to visit King Lune, or investigating a situation for Susan, it is rather tiresome to sit on a hard seat all day long and speak only when given permission."

"You remember it all clearly too, then," he stated.

Lucy nodded. "It's strange, though; I remember what it felt like to be an adult, but I don't feel very adult-like inside sometimes, even though I know my mind has lived over twenty years."

"As if there's a thin layer preventing you from being an adult?"

"Yes, exactly!" she exclaimed. "It's quite odd."

"I know what you mean; I feel the same." He fell silent.

She spoke after a moment. "The hardest part, actually, is remembering how to speak properly, for a child. I keep wanting to speak like I did between us in Narnia, or worse, like we did in the throne room."

Edmund grinned a little. "If it weren't that everyone would mock or tease, it would be jolly good fun to see their faces."

Lucy grinned back and sketched a courtly bow. "'Greetings, fair teacher and fellow students,'" she announced to the empty air in front of her. "'I trust that you all had a pleasant time since we last met together?'"

Edmund's answering chuckle was interrupted by a snigger from Geoffrey, one of his classmates, who was stepping around the next corner. "Don't we sound posh?" asked Geoffrey. A few companions joined him in sneering at her. Geoffrey bowed mockingly to Lucy. "Your highness," he greeted.

Lucy flushed but her lips remained pressed tightly together.

"She's stuck on her high horse," one of the others jeered.

"Do you need help down from there, your highness?" called another.

"Allow me to assist you," said Geoffrey with a sweeping bow before deliberately stumbling and bumping into her. "Oops!" Derisive laughter arose from the group of boys.

"Leave my sister alone," warned Edmund.

"Oooh," came the collective reply.

Geoffrey tilted his head at Edmund. "What's this, the queen's bodyguard?" he asked.

"No, they're brother and sister. Got to be a prince, at least!" answered one of the others.

"Prince Edmund!" arose the cry.

" **King** Edmund," the boy under discussion corrected. He stood unmoving, but there was no childlike uncertainty in his bearing. His posture spoke instead of the calm of a warrior waiting for the right moment. 

"Ooh, a king! Where's your crown, King Edmund?" one boy taunted him.

Geoffrey snorted. "Maybe he lost it. She's missing hers too." He leaned towards Lucy. "And what clothes! See the royal garment," he said as he tugged on her school blazer.

Edmund stepped in front of her, face inches from Geoffrey's. "Leave her alone."

"What are you going to do about it?" Geoffrey didn't budge, eyes staring into Edmund's.

"Challenge you to a duel."

Geoffrey blinked and backed up an inch. "What?"

"Single combat, just the two of us." Edmund smiled. "Just like kings of old might have done."

Geoffrey scoffed. "Still playing at king?"

"Are you saying you can't fight me because you'd lose?" Edmund's mouth quirked slightly.

The challenge raised Geoffrey's ire, as Edmund had calculated. "I wouldn't be so sure of that if I were you," he hissed. He glanced at his buddies before looking back to Edmund. "Tomorrow before school, then. Be early."

Edmund nodded. "I'll bring the weapons."

Geoffrey had turned to go, but Edmund's comment turned him back sharply. "Weapons? What weapons?"

"Wooden swords. What's a proper duel without a sword?"

Geoffrey stared.

Edmund merely smiled, a serene expression on his face.

"Agreed," said Geoffrey finally.

"Tomorrow then," Edmund said with a nod, then turned to leave.

Lucy needed no hint to follow him quickly. Once they'd passed out of sight of the boys, she glanced over at Edmund. "I thought Peter wasn't finished making them."

Edmund chewed on his lower lip a little. "He's close enough, and besides, if I'd tried to fight hand-to-hand, I'd lose for sure. All my battle instincts are for my adult body."

She nodded. "I know what you mean. I'd have the same trouble if I tried to wield a knife like I did my dagger; it’s been too long since I've fought in a child's body."

"At least with the swords, the moves are still basically the same as long as I'm fighting an opponent about my size. Which he is," he pointed out.

"Let's hope Peter can finish them tonight, then," she said with a little sigh.

* * *

"You did what?" Peter asked, an incredulous look on his face. Susan and Lucy stood nearby, listening.

Edmund sighed. "I challenged Geoffrey - you remember him - to a duel with the wooden swords." Susan blinked.

Peter's response was less calm. "I'm not even finished with them!"

"But you're close - you could finish tonight." Edmund's eyes pleaded with Peter. "Besides, he was harassing Lucy."

Peter sighed. "I see." He went over to the corner where he stored his project, pulling off the covering cloth and lifting one of the swords up. "It appears I'll be busy this evening…"

Susan smiled, shaking her head a little. "I'll get the tea ready, then."

"I'll help you," said Lucy, following Susan out of the room.

* * *

The crowd gathering the next morning in the schoolyard of the boys' school was larger than usual. "He must have told everyone he knew," said Edmund to his siblings as they approached.

"Lucy and I will watch from over the wall there," Susan said, pointing to where a few other girls were standing.

"Good luck, Edmund," said Lucy. Edmund knelt before her, and she smiled at the familiar pose as she leaned forward to kiss his forehead. "May Aslan be with you."

"Thank you, dear sister," he said, and stood up to walk into the yard with Peter.

Geoffrey grinned rather nastily at Edmund as he walked up. "Ready to lose?"

"We'll see about that," said Edmund. He glanced at Peter, who nodded.

Peter unwrapped the cloth bundle in his arms to produce two wooden swords. "These swords are blunt, so a kill is counted by getting the tip of your blade against the opponent's neck or heart. Anywhere else, they're still in. All agreed?"

"Aye," the crowd chorused.

"The combatants shall now choose their weapon," Peter proclaimed.

"You may choose first," Edmund said to Geoffrey. "It's only fair since I brought them."

Geoffrey looked over the two swords. One was noticeably longer than the other, as Edmund's arms would not match Peter's for several years yet. "I'll take this one," he said, grabbing the longer sword.

Edmund took the remaining sword from Peter's hands. "Don't worry," he whispered to Peter. "His blade might be longer but it does little good if he doesn't know how to use it."

Peter grinned. "I have no doubts about your skill, little brother."

Edmund stood to face Geoffrey, and Peter ordered the crowd to give them more space. "En garde!" he declared, and Edmund brought his sword up. Geoffrey lifted his up after a second, and the two began to circle each other warily.

At first, the duel was purely defensive on Edmund's side. He automatically parried each awkward thrust of the wooden blade, watching Geoffrey calmly. After a minute of this, he spoke. "It doesn't seem like you're having any success. Perhaps a draw?"

"Never!" growled Geoffrey, who dealt several fast blows, though some went somewhat wild and strained Edmund's ability to block.

Edmund grinned. "I don't think you will find success this way. Are you sure you don't want to call it a draw?"

The only response to that suggestion was another snarl, along with several more swings of Geoffrey's weapon.

As Geoffrey's arms began to weary, Edmund began to attack. First it was light blows, testing the other boy's defences. Geoffrey attempted to parry them, but Edmund scored more than one blow on Geoffrey's body. Finally, Edmund's sword slid up and between, and suddenly the point pressed lightly against Geoffrey's neck. "Will you yield?" Edmund asked. "By rights you are considered killed."

Geoffrey glared at Edmund for a moment, then finally dropped the sword onto the ground and turned to stalk off.

"Wait!" Edmund called. As Geoffrey turned back, Edmund bowed slightly and smiled. "Good match." He held out a hand.

Geoffrey stared at it for a long moment, then finally extended his own hand forward and shook Edmund's. He gave Edmund a little nod of acknowledgement before turning around and walking away.

Peter gathered the discarded sword and both brothers met their sisters outside the low wall surrounding the yard. "See, I told you I'd be fine," Edmund said to Susan. Her only response was a quick hug.

"General Oreius would've thought it a terribly unfair fight, with Geoffrey not having your training," Lucy pondered. "I think he'd have appreciated how you gave the other lad an out." She smiled up at him. "And I appreciate you defending me, since I can't do it for myself right now."

"Anything for my queen," Edmund said with a wink, and they laughed together.

"We'd better get going," said Peter. "It's late, and you two girls still have to get to your school." He wrapped up the swords in their cloth covering and tucked them under one arm. "I'll ask Mr. Chapman if he would mind if I stowed these in his shop till after school. Perhaps this evening we can have a real match?" He grinned, and Edmund grinned back.

"I'd like that," Edmund said softly. "It'll help me feel like I'm a King again."

"I know," Peter said, his hand squeezing Edmund's shoulder. "But you always have been. Remember this, brother."

Lucy's hand crept into Edmund's for a brief moment, and she smiled at him as they walked towards the beginning of another day in England.


End file.
